A 1000 person naturally ventilated processing centre in Shimoga, India
Commissioned by Xchanging plc, a UK based global outsourcer with a large footprint in India, our task was:
- To provide an economic office in Shimoga which would attract the talented youngsters coming out of universities and colleges in the region and, most importantly, would help retain them
- To make an office sufficient to accommodate up to 1000 staff initially and 2000 over a five year period
- To create a platform that is modern, open and interactive
- To take advantage of the tax breaks and other benefits arising from investment in the Special Economic Zone set up in Shimoga by the Karnataka government.
- To adopt low carbon best practice in the design of the building.
- We needed a cheap building
- Aircon was the obvious big ticket item to lose as it typically accounts for 40% of capital cost and 25% of running cost
- We did not want to lose staff so the solution had to be clever to attract and retain clever staff
- We worked with Buro Happold to design a naturally ventilated deep plan building that not only supported modern interactive working practice but provided acceptable environmental conditions in a tropical monsoon climate
- Our combined concept building is being executed on the ground by Venkatramanan Associates, one of India’s larger architectural practices
- We shaded North and South elevations with vertical “brise soleil” that cuts out all direct sunlight and directs the prevailing winds through the building.
As a consequence of the integrated design process this building will be singular – a modern deep plan interactive and environmentally friendly workplace in a challenging climate.
The savings on capital and running cost of the building compared with an air conditioned equivalent are significant. We anticipate good levels of occupant satisfaction and attendant high productivity.
The optimum building design has been developed to achieve the best comfort levels for inhabitants possible. Temperatures can reach 40˚Celsius in Shimoga and the building is designed to perform well passively in these conditions.
